Devil May Cry HD Collection

Posted: 04/03/12

Dante’s due for a makeover sometime this year in the upcoming DMC, but Capcom doesn’t want you to forget the demon slayer’s roots. With Devil May Cry HD Collection, the publisher hopes to reintroduce you to the PS2 trilogy that helped forge a new breed of action game. Given the questionable effort put into Capcom’s last few HD treatments, it’s not unreasonable to be a bit skeptical. Does Dante still have all the right moves, or have his antics gone out of style?

The Devil May Cry series is like an over-the-top action flick that chronicles the many adventures of Dante, a mercenary for hire who just also happens to have inherited supernatural powers from his demonic lineage. There’s not a whole lot of substance to these stories; they tend to be driven by highly-stylized action scenes and corny one-liners. That said, the cheesy premise that they share, as well as the elaborate set pieces that define them, are undeniably well executed. If you take the games as seriously as they take themselves--which is not very much--you'll definitely get your kicks.

Devil May Cry originally started development as a new entry into the Resident Evil series, and the influence is apparent in the vestigial bits of puzzle solving and exploration. However, these elements are overshadowed by the elaborate action sequences, and that’s what sets these games apart from their contemporaries. Each entry follows a level-based structure that consists of around 20 or so missions of hacking and slashing, with a heavy emphasis on earning a high rank for your efforts.

The original Devil May Cry largely takes place in a giant castle on a remote island, and though the game follows a mission structure, it doesn’t always feel like you’re playing through a sequence of individual levels with the amount of backtracking you'll do as well as the occasional open space to explore. Revisiting a familiar area doesn’t always come with a sense of déjà vu--new, more aggressive enemies will spring up, and the game will frequently spring other conditions on you, like time limits in previously-visited locales. Though some missions are over too quickly, Devil May Cry is a well-crafted experience overall, and one that that seldom meanders.

This isn’t the case for Devil May Cry 2, which not only shifts settings, but introduces a new playable character named Lucia. Its environments are uninspired and dull, lacking the care put into the original’s. Dante’s campaign is also incredibly short, so to artificially extend the length of the game, you’re given the option to play through the game as Lucia. There’s little difference between their two missions, so it almost feels like you’re playing through the same game twice. Which is all for naught, in the end, since Devil May Cry 2 is also much easier to breeze through.

Devil May Cry 3 sees a course correction, thankfully. It marks a return to the style of the original, and frankly surpasses it. There’s more variety to the locales, and it nails the atmosphere that its immediate predecessor failed to capture, radiating a stylish flair that was sorely missing. The special edition version of Devil May Cry 3 is the one that's included in the package, which means you get a few extra bonuses, including the ability to play through the game as Dante's twin brother Vergil once you’ve completed it. It’s easily the best of the bunch, so don’t be surprised if you spend the most time with it.

There’s full trophy support for each game along with a few nice extras exclusive to this collection, and you’ll easily plunk down 10-plus hours into each entry in the set.

The Devil May Cry games feature incredibly intricate controls, and one of the biggest hurdles to overcome is getting used to Dante’s extensive repertoire of attacks. These games are designed to punish button mashers and those who lazily spam the same combos. Beneath the hood is a fluid and ingenious system that gives you the wide array of abilities you’ll need to overcome any situation. It’s diverse enough that it never feels repetitious, and in fact actually nudges you to get creative with your attacks by actively rewarding daringness.

In the original Devil May Cry, Dante sticks with a limited range of weapons, but your arsenal is put to good use against imaginative enemies and bosses. The fixed camera angles are harder to stomach after all these years, and controlling Dante doesn’t feel as smooth as we remember, but it’s still a far cry better than its sequel. Devil May Cry 2 actually feels like a step backwards. The enemies are less imaginative and demanding overall, which results in battles that feel formulaic all the way through, lacking the nuance and variety of the other games in the series. Given how excellent its predecessor was, Devil May Cry 2 feels gutted in comparison.

Dante regains his footing in Devil May Cry 3. The revamped combat system introduces four different styles to pick from, and each one completely alters the way Dante handles. The game also features the most refined controls of the collection. The ability to freely change between your weapons on the fly meshes brilliantly with the multitude of fighting styles at your disposal. To this day, there are few games that can approach Devil May Cry 3's depth and execution.

The fast-paced action is aptly preserved in this HD collection, with most everything looking good and running smooth. A few things haven’t aged quite as gracefully, though, like Dante’s occasionally stiff animations and a few ugly textures. There’s also the inexplicable decision to leave the menus unaltered, but the overall, this is a nice face-lift that successfully preserves the game's look. The soundtracks haven't changed, for better or worse, and Dante's voice still perfectly suits his flamboyant style.

Capcom missed the boat with its other HD compilations, but Devil May Cry HD Collection is a top-shelf effort that spiffs up the series with touched up visuals and plenty of extras. Having all three games together in a collection like this is a golden opportunity for veterans to get reacquainted with Dante. And if you've somehow missed out on Devil May Cry, then this is your chance to finally experience a trilogy that played a large part in paving a new road for action games.

Publishers/DevelopersIf you have questions about the site or a piece of media that you would like included on gametrailers.com, we would love to hear from you. Send us an email at: trailers@gametrailers.com

GamersAny issues with the site? Are there broken links? Is there a trailer you are looking for that you can't find? Do you want to heap praise upon us? Send us an email at: webmaster@gametrailers.com